Now, there is a lot of info to wade through, grab yourself a coffee and relax, or save this for a rainy day if you want to have a laugh.

Following is world champion Valery Fedorenko’s response to my open letter here, which btw he failed to sent to me, I had to find out through someone else that he wrote it. Summary of my open letter: online kettlebell course promised to provide something that surpasses everything else, but failed on every level.

VALERY FEDORENKO FRIDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2016

I don’t want to embarrass anyone, but some people pass my intensive certification course and some people don’t. Some people have what it takes, others don’t. Commitment, enthusiasm for learning, desire to become a better Trainer… These are just some of the prerequisite skills a student should bring to the table I think. Recently a student that has been trying for TWO YEARS to pass the first section of the first module has attempted to turn his failure into a Global Crisis. At his rate of engagement, this course would take him nine years to complete, when many others have passed within a few months. That’s the nature of my Kettlebell Professional Certification, as it’s not one of the literally hundreds of other weekend “pay for your validation” weekend workshops. This course provides real learning, real evaluation of your skills as a Kettlebell Trainer. This logically could only work out positively if the student works the program. If you are the type who thinks they already know all about Kettlebells, I suggest you don’t even start this course. However, if you have a genuine desire to learn about kettlebells, and you can handle constructive feedback from me and my Assessors, this course has proven to give those who pass a valuable edge over the competition. We call these people World Kettlebell Professionals.

Yes you do want to embarrass someone, you tried to embarrass me, because that’s the type of person you are, it’s clear when you look at your traces in all the kettlebell groups where you make fun of other people all the time. But you have to try harder to embarrass me.

Look, it’s very clear what you’re trying to do, you want to make it look like I spend 2 years on ‘trying’ to pass your super professional course which far surpasses anything else out there. You want people to think that I spend every day sweating and studying your whole THIRTEEN page dot point booklet on some of the most complicated lifts in kettlebell sport. But this just proves that you did not read my letter properly, or maybe don’t understand it properly, because if you did, you would have seen where I spend most of my time, travelling the world, moving, holidaying, seeing beautiful parts of the world, dealing with an injury and just felt like the course was like going to a job you hate because the manager is an idiot and doesn’t know how to manage or teach anyone.

I did not want to embarrass you by mentioning that, all in all I only spend 26 hours on analysing and perfecting your technique (see video where we’re in sync), and most of those hours were spend cursing due to the lack of information you provide, cursing because of the pisspoor course material. I was so angry with the material and money wasted that even thinking about starting again everytime drove me mad., you know that feeling you get when you have to get up to go to a job you really hate?

What my Assessors say about the courses:

Our Kettlebell Professional course has attracted a wide range of lifters, from all over the world and many varying backgrounds. We accommodate anyone who wants to learn, whether novice or experienced lifters, but – and here’s the crunch – they need to be ready to learn. So, ready to make video submissions, ready to get online with an Assessor and talk kettlebells, take critique from Valery Fedorenko, ready to read our extensive course materials (these used to be issued in a series of PDFs but the 2016 version is in a printed manual with over 40 pages). Ready to hear what the team here have to suggest, even if the team member is a female, black, gay or disabled, or (and this is tough for some people) just simply more knowledgeable on this one area of life than the student. We start to get to know you from the enrolment form where we take care to find out if you have any injuries or disability or may need extra help accessing the materials. And after that, as we explain, it’s up to you to keep us informed of injury or changes in circumstances.

OK, you’re saying that I did not want to learn, I wasn’t ready to learn, I wasn’t ready to make video submissions, I wasn’t ready to get online with an assessor and talk kettlebells, I wasn’t ready to take critique. That’s what you’re saying, but how are you backing that up? Let me back something up, I won’t list all the courses I successfully completed, but I completed many, all without failing once, all with great pleasure and enthusiasm.

I see you mention EXTENSIVE COURSE MATERIALS, but you gave me a 13 page PDF that is supposed to cover all kettlebell sport lifts, and then you say it used to be 40 pages, thus admitting I did not get extensive material, and even 40 pages in my world would not do these complicated lifts justice, I guarantee you that anyone not doing the course and having a look at the material provided would laugh.

There is no such thing where you ask if I was female, black, gay or disabled, not even in the enrolment form. Ooh, and there was no question about injury… ever.

What my successful students say about the courses:

“Having time to think about and understand the material, rather than having everything in a short space of time such as on a weekend course, meant that information and practical application could be consolidated properly. The written material is extremely well written and structured, with clear and informative teaching points and step-by-step guidance about what is required. And I also now have that to refer to in the future. Working with an Assessor was very helpful and the feedback invaluable. I felt that the material and the personal one-to-one contact plus the online resources of WK has given me a thorough start to my training and helped me to have the confidence to share what I know with others.” Susan – UK

Looks like you made a successful sale there on the personal one-to-one training you push, job well done. Wonder how many hours she had to buy? Certainly do agree with her on the part where you have time to think and understand the material, I’m serious about that, it’s much better than a one day course, only thing is, you failed to provide the material.

“What I liked most about the certification WK was the effort I felt in order to accomplish each challenge you gave me. Was very satisfying. Other thing I really liked were the fact that I know I am one of the few people with discipline and perseverance that received the certification. People know that this is not easy, and that is exciting for me. And the last but not less important, is that I love the fundamentals, I love the roots of every sport. And I know that this certification give me the tools to speak confident about what I am really doing with a kettlebell in my hand. I feel different. I feel proud.” Rossana – USA

Great stuff, not only did you not give me the 40 page extensive material to read, you did not give me the fundamentals that you apparently gave the lady above.

“My WK Certification was a journey of perseverance, self-motivation and self-direction. Much more than a weekend course in a group setting where you participate in a set curriculum, the WK Certification acknowledges the independence and self-discipline required by those involved in kettlebell sport, whether as a coach or an athlete. The modules which required video or written submissions and Skype tutorials were well supported by email and I always felt that I could ask questions and get a thoughtful, helpful response. The Certification required me to set my own pace and plan my own submissions and I valued the experience of using creativity, initiative and my own research. I now feel confident that my own technique and coaching has been thoroughly assessed and very much value the WK Certification I’ve achieved.” Tamra – NZ

I like what this lady says, because it backs up my whole point, the one you fail to see and/or address.

self-di·rect·ed – Directed or guided by oneself,especially as an independentagent:theself-directedstudy of a language.

I aplaude your successful students, they did what I could not, put up with poorly put together course material, and fall for a sales scheme that upsells one-on-one time.

Valery Fedorenko You didn’t pass the course. A certain %, a small % don’t pass, and after 2 years of trying you failed the very first chapter of the 1st of 2 modules, and you feel qualified to give feedback on the full course? After over a year and a half you were given 3 months deadline to get to work and accomplish something with the course, but you failed. The course should take less than 3 months to finish in the first place, but you took 2 years to find out it wasn’t going to work for you.

The full course, you mean that you have much more awesome material to provide? You mean that after the first chapter where you judge students on swing, clean, press, push press, long cycle press, long cycle push press, long cycle jerk, half snatch and snatch, you mean you were actually going to provide me actual study material after I pass those? So first provide no study material, get the student to perfect the lifts and then you provide the material that any student needs to learn the intricate details of what you’re teaching. Yeah that makes perfect sense to me (sarcasm). That’s the only possible thing you’re saying, because you sure as hell have not provided any course material up to now.

Stop. I’m being drawn into your game, simply because you failed to address what is really my concern, you’re trying to make this about things its not.

My issue is not that you did not pass me, never has been, you failed to see that my issue is with the material you provide for a course you say surpasses everything. My issue is that your people skills and that of your staff sucks. My issue is that you required me to get a piece of expensive equipment but can’t tell me anything about it, and only after purchasing the course (proof end of page, copy of email), it doesn’t stop there, I also needed to have a tablet or android phone compatible with the technology (neither of which I had). My issue is that you provide a course that is all about upselling. This is my main issue, it pisses me off, because when you buy a course, EVERYTHING you need to complete it should be included, yeah, not countless of hours, I understand this, but you include none.

I dare you to actually address the following concerns with a simple YES or NO answer, or you can leave a detailed reply, but I know those are difficult for you.

Do you believe you describe all intricate details of all the lifts in the one and only 13 page PDF you provided me with? YES / NO

Do you deny that I asked for information and got told to buy one-on-one training? YES / NO

Do you believe that the one and only 50 minute video included with the course does more than just demonstrating the lifts and provides all the intricate details on all the lifts? YES / NO

Mandy Kemp Many thanks for your form. You will need to acquire a Fixometer for this course, if you cannot borrow one. You can find the link via our website. Please make sure you have a phone or tablet that is compatible with the technology. You will need the Fixometer for Module 2 and although we encourage its use throughout the program it does not become mandatory until then.

In response to your second email, I can’t address your issues as per individual lifts via email. I understand you have questions and that’s fine. We can certainly cover some of them in tutorial. As for your first email, you seem to be confusing the sport swing with a “hard style” or “American” swing. The sport swing does not have a hip thrust, and the trajectory is a pendulum movement relying in part on gravity. Let’s talk in tutorial.

Hello Mandy,

So far I only received a PDF which refers to an introduction video which I was asked to review and then submit any question I may have. I now get the feeling I misunderstood and should not have asked questions about any moves I had?

I quote:

1.2 You are advised to make notes on anything you want to ask about, points you feel you may need to work on. Write down your strengths and weaknesses as a lifter.

Please advice in details what is expected from me at this stage?

PS. I’m not familiar with Kettlebell Sport, which is one of the reasons I’m doing this certification, hoping I learn the ins and outs. I’m not being confused about the swing, I don’t know the swing in Kettlebell sport, I was asking questions about it, to understand it better, hoping I would receive an explanation.

I have received the Node from Variable. There is no information in the package how to connect the Node to my iPhone or any other device, there is only a cable to connect from the node to a USB device. I’ve searched on your website and there is no information on how to connect it, at least not that I could find.

Mandy Kemp We do not have any financial links with Variable, and while we recommend the technology we cannot provide support services for the product. You need to download the free app provided by WKC to your phone or tablet. You can find this link on our website on the page headed Fixometer. If you need any further help you will need to contact Variable who have a very good support service.

January 5 2016, I email their generic email address to ask if I could work with someone else, as I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere with ms stone cold, they forwarded the email to her. In the same email I also notified them about my injury, did they ever ask about it, no. If it was me, I’d be like “how does it affect what we do?”.

February 15 I emailed Mandy the notes I made during a Skype call, just to check if I made the right notes, since it was too much effort for her to email them to me.

Mandy Kemp Unfortunately I am not able to review and comment on a student’s own notes. I guess the comparison would be if you went to college, sat through a lecture or a tutorial, wrote your notes and then asked your professor to check them through. It’s not something we can offer. If you have a specific question please email me and I will of course do my best to help you.

Then we went through some back and forth emailing about taking up time, I suggested to just submit a video with me doing the kettlebell sport swing, as that was the only issue, but no, I needed to film the clean, the long cycle press, the long cycle push press, the long cycle jerk, the half snatch and snatch. Seriously? Do you not see how silly that is, you want to see improvements in the swing and everything you want me to do involves the swing, so if I fail on the first part of the video I will fail on the other parts… errrrrrrr you do realise if I send you a two minute video with the swing from 1 minute front on and 1 minute side on we can save time? No?

Blah blah blah. Got another cool little bit of info to add to my video about the Kettlebell History.

Mandy Kemp However, Valery was the first to bring the kettlebell to the US. Take a look on YouTube and see the bells he was lifting in Russia in competition in the 1990s, ordinary recognisable competition bells.

There you have it, Pavel was not the first.

All in all I submit a video three times, after the second video the kettlebell sport swing was the issue, but wasn’t able to just submit the swing alone, so I was like WTF.

If you read all the way through all this, I congratulate who ever you are, shout out below or on facebook. I don’t normally do this, but something that has been bothering me for so long and has been handled so poorly, I don’t want anyone else to go through this, someone should speak up, and I just did.

If you have a similar experience please post below, hell, if you had an awesome experience and think all of the above is crap, post below, but make sure you back up what you say.